The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me pause the game for around ten minutes while I thought through my options. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments measure up to what could be the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You must explore a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game provides; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs instead and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the reality that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Taking on The Challenge could be a instance where he can show that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they reject navigation help, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The game world contains design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps yet another trap? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as competent as everyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Experience

During my game, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call